Sr Dr Prof. Danny WAN

Educational Background

• MSc in Construction Real Estate 2010
• MBA 2007
• Bachelor of Arts 1999
• MRICS, CIHCM, MAPM. ABIFM, MBCSC, MHIREA

Industry Sector 

• Property Developer, Listed in HKEx
• Data Center Owner and Operator
• Medical & Health Business
• Private Equity, Asset Management and Family Office Business
  
   

Career/ Job Position

Key Professional Achievements

I am currently  a Managing Partner for an investment consortium with several listed companies focusing on property development ranging from Hong Kong urban renewal and overseas real estate investment, Data Center Investment & Operations, Artificial Intelligence (AI) articulate with building intelligence and medical & health business.

I I have served the Hong Kong Housing Society for over ten years. I  has been serving the Supervisory Board for advising & monitoring the execution of Society to formulate and structure the development strategy in the public subsidised housing market. Professional coalition in the Finance Committee contributed the short to long term financial mapping of the resources deployed by the asset to raise 12B Bond for the Society.

I am a currently Adjunct Professor in the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi), Committee Member and Mentor of CityU HK 300 scheme, Academic External Examiner of CityU External Advisor of St Francis University. Dr Wan has been actively engaged in Media Programme in Now TV and Metro Finance Broadcast for overa decade.

I have been appointed as Part-Time Member of the HKSAR Government Central Policy Unit, VTC Management & Supervisory Committee, and Accountancy Training Committee, as PRC Guangzhou Huadu & Haizhu CPPCC Member, Vice-Chairman of Guangdong Real Estate Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of the Hong Kong Real Property Federation.

Reasons for Pursuing a Doctorate Programme

As early as in 1994, I have been seconded to China from a Hong Kong Listed Construction Company to Guangzhou to handle the China subsidiaries in several regions in China. During the advancement of my career, I have gone through many difficult projects and I found myself was inadequate in the competence of knowledge especially in the academic aspects. At that period, with the escalation of the project complexity and due to the advancement of the technology, I needed to enrich my professionalism by taking more related academic subjects so I took up the MSc Real Estate & Construction and other supportive professional bodies in the following years. This mutual competence grew up in parallel and with that I was promoted to General Manager in the Company and I have enjoyed a fruitful career escalation by taking up more senior posts in other companies and achieved a reputable status in the property development arena in the industry.

However, as I further achieved the senior career ladder in the property industry, I felt it is the high time to accomplish a research base technique in the construction and property industry as to understand the future industry, thus I enrolled the Doctorate in International Real Estate and Construction program (DIREC) and tried to conduct the research in urban renewal perspectives as to develop my further study. I was acquired my learning experience plus knowledge in real estate along with the thesis of devising the Urban Renewal Index as to measure the viability and activity of urban renewal in the property market.

Why do you choose PolyU DIREC Programme

DIREC programme would be a perfect match of top-tier professional education and training that perfectly suits the requirement for the advancement of the technological growth and development in property industry.

The visits and exchange of high-level delegation is another value-added competitive advantage for the DIREC programme. During the studies, I had the opportunity to share and exchange studies and ideas in the University of Cambridge in the UK, National University in Singapore and other top notch universities in Beijing. These new and fresh exposures brought me the supreme concept and to refresh myself to achieve next level and supreme mind-set in property and construction industry.

Overall Learning Experience from Studying DIREC Programme

DIREC programme opened my mind and expanded by mutual learning experience from the classmates and the diverse background of students can complement and supplement myself the sharing experience among the student community. The students’ backgrounds are entirely various, ranging from lawyers, legislative members, other higher education lecturers, engineers and of course with business people. The group work and examination can unify all the classmates in many great new ideas and creativity that further enhance the interest of studies in DIREC program.

In addition, the interaction between the lecturers and students comprised another fresh experience for the student and strengthen the foundation of knowledge and accomplishment of DIREC program.

Outcomes/ Expectations from Studying DIREC Programme

Before joining DIREC programme, property industry is just an operation task for myself and it is merely a process to me and just a programme by using the knowledge and profit set as the final target. However, with the knowledge and experience gained from the DIREC program, property industry is not just a process, but is it a research topic and I have to think deeper and more and need to find a way forward in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency in the future property development projects.

Advice for Prospective Candidates

DIREC Programme is not just a program, it is a top-tier exposure for the participants to open their minds and to accept that real estate is a science that you need to continuously learning and research as to accomplish an eternal goal and achievement. DIREC program is a stepping stone that transitions your approach to real estate from a purely practical perspective to an advanced and research-driven mindset.. The professional can migrate from an operator level up to a senior practitioner level with forward-looking mind-set in the property and construction industry.